Abstract

Introduction: People with Parkinson's disease (PD) have difficulty performing upper extremity (UE) activities.The aim of this study was to investigate if exergames targeting the UE improve arm and handactivities and impairments and to establish the acceptability and feasibility of these games in people withPD.Methods: Two tablet-based exergames were developed which were controlled with finger movements orunimanual whole arm movements. Participants with PD were randomized to an exergame (n ¼ 19) orcontrol (n ¼ 19) group. The exergame group performed UE exergames at home, 3 times per week for 12weeks. The primary outcome measure was the nine hole peg test. Secondary outcomes included measuresof UE activities and impairments, including the tapping test [speed (taps/60s), and error (weightederror score/speed)].Results: There were no between group differences in the nine hole peg test, or in any secondary outcomemeasures except for the tapping test. Horizontal tapping test results showed that exergame participantsimproved their speed (mean difference ¼ 10.9 taps/60s, p Conclusion: The UE exergames were acceptable and safe, but did not translate to improvement infunctional activities. It is likely that the requirement of the games resulted in increased movement speedat the detriment of accuracy. The design of exergames should consider task specificity.